ONE LAND · 13 ATLASES
History of Estonia in maps
Estonia as it appears in 13 interactive history atlases, from 1789 to 2015: Estonia, Soviet Union, Soviet Estonia. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
WW2 is free — every chapter. No sign-up.
What was Estonia before it was Estonia? Below, every era of this land in the Maps of History atlases — who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed — each line linked to the dated map that shows it. Modern borders stand in as an honest approximation; every atlas says so on the map itself.
Estonia · Norse and Aztecs
| Other peoples and states — the opening position |
NORSE AND AZTECS: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Danish Estonia · Mongol Empire
| Beyond the storm — the opening position |
MONGOL EMPIRE: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia (Russian Empire) · Industrial Revolution
| Industrialising — the opening position | |
| Industrialising | |
| Industrialising |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia · Age of Revolutions
| The conservative monarchies — the opening position |
AGE OF REVOLUTIONS: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia · Meiji Japan and post-Soviet Russia
The smallest Baltic republic, annexed in 1940 under the Nazi–Soviet Pact, began its “Singing Revolution” with mass song festivals in 1988, and on 23 August 1989 its people formed the northern link of the Baltic Way. Its independence was recognised in September 1991. Estonia chose rapid market reforms and introduced its own currency in 1992, and it became one of the most successful of the post-Soviet states.
| The USSR, then Russia — the opening position | |
| War, rebellion, breakaway | |
| Independent neighbours |
MEIJI JAPAN AND POST-SOVIET RUSSIA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia (Estland) · Russian Revolution
Estonia declared independence in February 1918, survived German occupation and a Bolshevik invasion, and — with British naval help and its own army — won its freedom by 1920, when Soviet Russia recognized it. Independent until Stalin annexed it in 1940.
| The Tsarist empire — the opening position | |
| Provisional Government, then the Whites | |
| Soviet power | |
| Breakaway national states |
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia (Russian Empire) · WWI
| The Entente & Allies — the opening position | |
| The Entente & Allies | |
| Russia in revolution | |
| Under Central Powers occupation | |
| Neutral or unaligned | |
| Neutral or unaligned |
Estonia · Stalin’s Soviet Union
Estonia was independent from 1918 until June 1940, when the Red Army occupied it under the secret protocol of the Nazi–Soviet Pact, and it was annexed in August after a staged election. About 10,000 people were deported on 14 June 1941. German occupation followed in 1941–44, then Soviet rule returned. The “forest brothers” resisted into the 1950s, and Operation Priboi deported some 20,000 more Estonians in March 1949.
| Annexed by the USSR, 1939–45 — the opening position | |
| Annexed by the USSR, 1939–45 | |
| Under German occupation | |
| Annexed by the USSR, 1939–45 |
STALIN’S SOVIET UNION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia · Road to WW2
| Neutral & unaligned — the opening position | |
| Aggressor clients & partners | |
| Democracies & powers fighting them |
ROAD TO WW2: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Estonia · WW2
| Soviet Union — the opening position | |
| Soviet Union |
Estonia · Cold War
| USSR & Warsaw Pact — the opening position | |
| Non-aligned & neutral | |
| Non-aligned & neutral |
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Soviet Union (Estonia) · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution
| Right won in law — the opening position | |
| No reform yet / outside this story | |
| Right won in law |
FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Soviet Estonia · Refugee crises
| Soviet-occupied or communist — the opening position |
REFUGEE CRISES: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Related
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Join the Dispatch — a short welcome series, then a letter when a new atlas opens — and a printable atlas study guide of your choice is yours now, free.
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME